Hilton unveils plans for its smart hotel room rollout in 2018

Hilton's smart room technology enables guests to use mobile app to set room preferences, which brings a consistent experience and integrates the development of digital key and loyalty.

Hilton Worldwide is betting that guests will want to control their room’s thermostat, television, and other amenities via their mobile phones.

The goal is to enable Hilton guests to use its mobile app to set their room preferences, which hotels can automatically apply to individual rooms when guests check in.

Hilton chose Memphis, Tennessee, for its first test hotel. The company plans to get “a handful of more properties” live there and in Dallas in “the coming weeks.” During the tests, guests use remote controls that simulate the app to operate basic amenities in rooms, said Sloser.

Another hotel, The Peninsula in Hong Kong, was among other companies that pioneered some of the individual technologies of controlling room amenities via mobile devices.